“Mr Brown is a very skilled farrier—the best there ever was—but I imagine Wickham’s words made him lose his concentration for a moment, what with the subject being so upsetting. The old horse somehow escaped his halter and, in an unlucky accident, reared up and came down with his hoof on Wickham’s head.”
Elizabeth’s mouth fell open. “Unlucky accident?”
“What else could it be? You cannot believe he would do itdeliberately?”
“Of course not!”
“The magistrate called it death by misadventure. He even said it without mutteringgood riddanceunder his breath. Seems Wickham was fishing in more than one stream.”
Elizabeth shook her head. If the brandy had not killed her yet, she might have a taste more.
Bennet nodded. “One lesson, Elizabeth. In this new life you are embarking on, there may be times when you need spirits. You might like it. You might hate it. You might love it like Mr Hurst, though that seems unlikely. Remember your mother at a party from time to time. Learn your tolerance with someone you trust; know your limits, and do not exceed them in public. Save your excesses for home.”
“Is that what you would tell a son?”
“No, by your age, a son would have plundered my liquor cabinet too many times to count, and there would not be a thing in the world I could tell him about it, even in the unlikely event he listened to me. Boys are particularly hard-headed creatures. Even and Cecil were not unique.”
Elizabeth laughed, unsure if it was the right sentiment.
“Two days later, your Mr Darcy came looking for him.”
“I see. He must have been disappointed.”
Bennet noticed—of course he did—that she had given up all pretence of denying he washerMr Darcy, but there was no telling if that was because she was bored with the game or starting to think it was not so unlikely after all.
“I think he was conflicted. It must have been sad to lose a childhood friend his father liked a great deal, regardless of howhe turned out. He must have been relieved he would not have to send him to debtors’ prison or get him shipped off to France to take his chances with the army. He must have been disappointed that he could not perform one noble action to impress his ladylove.”
Elizabeth let the last bit of teasing slide by; it was not worth the effort of contradiction.
“In the end, he compromised. He settled some of Wickham’s debts. The honest merchants received part payment, not because he could not afford to make them whole, but because he thought they should own at least some of their naivety to teach them caution. Of course, the money loaned to finance drunken revelries in the tavern remained unpaid, as did his gambling debts. Then—”
“Do not get missish on me now, Father.”
“He convinced two local girls to give up their virtue, with the expected result.”
Elizabeth hesitated, but Bennet continued. “As far as we can tell, Wickham did nottakeit by force. They both gave it willingly, but… well.”
“Since, as you said, Lydia could easily have found herself one of them, I cannot fault themtoobadly. In fact,Imight have been in some danger at the beginning of our acquaintance. Not much, mind you, but he was handsome and charming.”
“Be that as it may, it is a difficult situation for a young woman. Mr Darcy has seen it before, with more men than Mr Wickham, and he did what he usually does.”
“Which is?”
“He says not to read too much virtue into his actions. He sees a duty and throws money at it. Both girls obtained reasonable husbands away from Meryton with a modest dowry, which MrDarcy stood for. He said it was his duty for not taking the blackguard down years ago—though why it is his duty is beyond me.”
“That sentiment is admirable, though there are enough rotten apples in the general population that he will already have been replaced with someone else.”
“We will never know. At any rate, your Mr Darcy left the county about £2,000 poorer.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Perhaps he left the county £2,000 richer in character, or richer in pride—the proper kind.”
“Not to put too fine a point on it,” Bennet chuckled, “but might he have left the county £2,000 richer in affection?”
Elizabeth snapped her head up and glared. “That smacks of a mercenary attitude.”
“Perhaps, but are you certain you would be so offended if there were not a tiny grain of truth?”
Elizabeth sighed and nodded, admitting defeat.
